Martin hemleb



M. HEMLEB.

COVER PLATE FOR SEWlNG MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29. 1917- Patented Dec. 2,1919.)-

. w w r INVENTOR WITNESS M fiJ/g ATTORNEY sTA radiant cri ics.

MARTIN HEMLEB, or ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR To THE SINGER MANUFAC-TUBING COMPANY, A CORPORATION for NEW JERSEY.

COVER-PLATE FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

Application filed March 29,

1 b all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MARTIN HEMLEB, a citizen of the United States,residing at Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cover-Plates forSewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates in general to sewing machines and in particularto fiat-bed sewing machines of the chain or lock-stitch types.

In machines of the types mentioned where access to the loop-taker isdifficult or impossible from beneath the work-supporting surface andbecause it is necessary to reach the loop-taker in order to replenishthe lower thread or to thread up the looper at more or less frequentintervals, it is desirable to render the loop-taker very accessible. Toprovide for access to the looptaker with the greatest facility andwithout disturbance of the work on the bed is the object of thisinvention;

The invention may be briefly described as consisting of a movablesection or'plate set in one edge of thework-supporting surface andforming part of the same and supported flush therewith by a hinge and aspring-pressed latch, respectively, on opposite sides of the section orplate. The latch may be retracted from supporting engagement with anotch in the bed to permit the section or plate to swing downwardly onits hinge to a position facilitating access to the loop-taker. I

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation, partly in section, of theinvention as applied to a lock-stitch machine,- the plate being shown indotted lines in the position it occupies when access to the loop-takeris desired. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of one end of the bed-plate.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention is shown an old form oflock-stitch machine in which a loop-taker indicated generally at 1 isadapted to enter the loop of thread thrown out by the needle 2 and carryit around the lower thread mass with- Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

1917. Serial No. 158,171. 1

in the removable bobbin-case '3 in a manner old and well-known.

In the fiat-bed of the machine which ordinarily rests on the margins ofan opening in the table-top and located atone side of the stitchingpoint, is a recess 5 filled by a section or plate '6 hinged to "the bedas indicated at 7 and disengageably supported substantially flush withthe plane of the work-supporting surface of the bed by a latch S.- Thehinge 7 and latch S may be formed in any suitable manner and theircomponent parts ma be carried by- -ither thesection or bed. Preferablythe hinge 7 is formed by fastening with screws f to the section or plate6 a strap 10having a boss 11 drilled to receive the pintle 12 secured tothe bed across a covered recess 13 therein. At its forward end the strap10 iscut away to form a pocket 10 between itselfand thesection or plate6 for holding in place a bent spring 14 which has one of its endsentered into a hole 15 in the latch 8 and which impels the latch endwiseinto supporting engagement with a notch 16 at one side of the recess 5.Sliding movement of the latch or detent 8 is, permitted by the slots 17therein which receive the. screws 18 tapped into the section 6. One endof the latch 8 has a guiding finger 19 laterally of the catch portion 20which latter is rounded off as indicated at 21. The bed is alsoroundedotf as indicated at 22 to facilitate the snapping of the latchinto the notch when the section or plate is swung from its abnormalposition, favoring access to the loop-taker andshown in dotted linesinFig. 1, to its normal position shown insolid lines in the same figure.

It is very desirable to control the position of the plate or section 6from above the bed and especially in household machines because of thesurrounding frame-work of wood which is usually found supporting themachine. Control of the latch 8 from above the bed is provided byextending oneof its ends 23 upwardly through an elongated open ing 24 inthe section 6. The upper surface of the plate is cut away as indicatedat 25 to facilitate contact with the end :23 of the latch or detentwhich end is substantially level with the upper surface of the plate.

It is very desirable to manipulate from above the bed the return of, thesection or plate from an abnormal position favoring access to theloop-taker to a normal position. And to this end the strap 10 has beenprovided with a bent arm or extension 26 having an upturned end 27terminating n the plane of the section or plate 6 whlch 1s suitablyapertured as indicated at 28 to receive same. When the plate is in anabnormal position the end 27 of the arm or extension projects above theplane of the bed as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and by theapplication of a light pressure on said end 27 the plate or section 6may be swung back into normal position with sufficient momentum to snapthe latch into the notch 16. The section or plate 6 will then besupported by the latch until a manual retraction thereof permits it tofall under the force of gravity and hang suspended as indicated indotted lines in Fig. 1.

It is to be noted that when the plate is in a normal position the end 27of the arm or extension is substantially flush with the bed and does notobstruct travel of material thereover.

The invention has been shown and described as applied to a machinehaving an oscillating shuttle movable in a vertical plane but it is tobe understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to usethere with as it is obviously applicable to any lockor chain-stitchmachine in which a lower-thread mass or a lower thread-carrier, such asa looper, is employed and must be reached to replenish the bobbinorshuttlethread or to thread up the looper and in which are also presentedthe same or similar ditliculties of access.

lVhile the invention has been described in connection with a flatbedmachine, it is to be understood that this is only the form of itsapplication in which it finds its most extensive field.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim hereinis 1. In a sewing machine having a worksupport, a loop-taker locatedbelow the work-support, and means for obtaining direct access to theloop-taker comprising a gravity-actuated work-supporting sectionpivotally mounted in one edge of the main work-support, and meansincluding a latch for detachably holding said section in a normallyelevated position flush with the worksupport, whereby on release of thelatch the section may drop below the work-plate.

2. In a fiat-bed sewing machine, a looptaker located below the work bed,said bed having in ene edge a separate work-supporting section arrangedto drop beneath its upper surface, meaus'for supporting said sectionflush with the bed including a hinge and a positive d tentwhereby thesection nary be held elevated or released and dropped beneath the bedfor giving direct access to the loop-taker.

3. In a flat-bed sewing machine, a looptaker located below the work bed,said bed having in one edge a separate work-supporting sect-ion hingedthereto, a latch for supporting, said section flush with the bed and a srin normall holdin said latch in b s O a position to support saidsection, said latch being retractable to permit a dropping of thesection to afford access to the loop-taker.

4. In a flat-bed sewing machine, a looptaker located below the bed, saidbed having a separate section arranged to be swung be neath its uppersurface, means for supporting said section flush with the bed includinga hinge, a slide carried by the section and normally engaged with thebed to support said section, a spring for holding said slide in normalposition, and means accessible from above the bed for retracting saidslide against the action of said spring to permit gravity to swing saidsection to a position beneath the bed for rendering the loop takeraccessible.

5. In a fiat-bed sewing machine, a loop taker located below the plane ofthe bed, a hinged plate in one edge and forming a part of thework-sustaining surface of said flatbed, a disengageable connection forsupporting said plate flush with the bed and means accessible from abovethe bed for swinging said plate upon its hinge whereby said plate may beswung from an abnormal position favoring access to the looptalrer to anormal position flush with the bed.

6. In a fiat-bed sewing machine, a loop taker located below the plane ofthe bed, a hinged plate forming part of the worksustaining surface ofsaid flat-bed, a disengageable connection for supporting said plateflush with the bed, and an extension fixed to said plate on the oppositeside of said hinge, said extension having a free end lying substantiallyflush with the bed when the plate is in a normal position and proj ecting above the bed when the plate is in an abnormal position.

7. In a flat-bed sewing machine, a looptaker located below the plane ofthe bed, a movable plate forming part of the worksustaining surface ofsaid flat-bed, means for supporting said plate flush with the bedincluding a disengageable connection and a hinge, and means accessiblefrom above the bed for releasing said disengageable connection to lowerthe plate from normal position and for swingin said plate upon its hingeto snap it back into normal position.

8. In a sewing machine having a work support, in combination, aloop-taker located below the work support, said work supporthaving aseparate section or plate arm fixed to the plate and having an uphingedthereto laterally and in advance of turned extremity substantiallyco-planar 10 the loop-taker, a spring-pressed latch for with thesection, whereby the plate or seeholding said plate in position flushwith the tion is accessibly controlled from above the 5 work support, anupwardly extending fin bed.

gel piece on said latch, an opening in said In testimony whereof, I havesigned myplate adapted to receive said finger-piece name to thisspecification. and permit sliding of the latch and a bent MARTIN HEMLEB.

